Here’s a couple of quotes that will challenge our tendency towards apathy and comfort.  First, from the blog, Pure Church:

“It is quite common for people to say they are looking for a church they are comfortable with. I think that is a scandalous statement. When were churches supposed to be comfortable places? There is too much need in the world for Christians to be comfortable.”

–Ajith Fernando, The Call to Joy and Pain: Embracing Suffering in Your Ministry (Crossway, 2007), 1994

Here’s a quote from Os Guiness that the Vitamin Z blog posted a little while back:

One reason people live unexamined lives is because of what Blaise Pascal, a seventeenth-century French scientist called “diversions.” We are reluctant, even afraid, to admit that we all, without exception, will die. We surround ourselves with entertaining distractions so we don’t have to think about death. We tranquilize ourselves with the trivial. Has any generation ever been able to divert itself so happily for so long and with so many fascinating toys as ours? With our BlackBerries, iPhones, iPods, and TiVos, we can lose ourselves in virtual reality and be entertained and distracted forever– “amusing ourselves to death,” as best-selling author Neil Postman puts it.

. . . The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy told the story of a peasant who worked furiously to acquire more and more land—all for good and worthy reasons—until he finally dropped dead in the process. Tolstoy called the story “How much land does a man need?” and he answered his own question at the end: “Six feet from his head to his heels.”

It is astonishing how strongly the Bible speaks of forgiveness (see Matthew 18:15-35 for just one example).  And, when you stop and think about it, it is astonishing how God-like forgiveness is (Colossians 3:12-14). I found the following post from the Vitamin Z blog a helpful summary of an important aspect of forgiveness.

Among other things, forgiveness is a commitment. Forgiveness is a promise to pardon another. Ken Sande summarizes four promises that Christians make when they forgive another.

“I will not dwell on this incident.”

“I will not bring up this incident again and use it against you.”

“I will not talk to others about this incident.”

“I will not let this incident stand between us or hinder our personal relationship.”

Sande writes,

By making and keeping these promises, you can tear down the walls that stand between you and your offender. You promise not to dwell on or brood over the problem or to punish by holding the person at a distance. You clear the way for your relationship to develop unhindered by memories of past wrongs. This is exactly what God does for us, and it is what he calls us to do for others.

Think of someone you have recently forgiven. (And, that shouldn’t be hard to do). Have you been keeping each of the above four promises in relation to the person you forgave?

Here is an interesting quote on laughter from John Piper via the Vitamin Z blog.  O to have the gospel infiltrate every corner of our lives- even our laughter.

Gospel humility frees you from the need to posture and pose and calculate what others think, so that you are free to laugh at what is really funny with the biggest belly laugh. Proud people don’t really let themselves go in laughter. They don’t get red in the face and fall off chairs and twist their faces into the contortions of real free laughter. Proud people need to keep their dignity. The humble are free to howl with laughter.

I’m sure many of you, like me, can relate to the following post from The Blazing Center blog.

Prayer can be excruciating sometimes.

When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel like praying. I feel like going back to bed, or just sipping on my caffeinated wake-up-juice. The effort required to pray feels enormous.

My heart feels cold and my prayers feel limp. I toss up a half-hearted “Lord help me,” and watch it fall back into my lap like a wounded bird. I try to focus my fuzzy mind, but the moment I achieve any semblance of concentration, my mind deserts me.

And so I find the advice of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones to be tremendously helpful. Read the following very carefully:

You have to learn how to kindle a flame in your spirit, to warm yourself up, to give yourself a start. It is comparable, if you like, to starting a car when it is cold. You have to learn how to use a spiritual choke. I have found it most rewarding to do that, and not to struggle vainly. When one finds oneself in this condition, and that it is difficult to pray, do not struggle in prayer for the time being, but read something that will warm and stimulate you, and you will find that it will put you into a condition in which you will be able to pray more freely.

This practice has been a tremendous boost to my spiritual life. Rather than wading through distracted prayer, I let my prayers be propelled by what I am reading in scripture. I read a few verses, ponder their meaning and application, and then immediately pray based upon what I just read.

This morning I read the story of Jesus healing ten lepers. Only one, a Samaritan, came back to thank Jesus. And so I asked God to make me like the Samaritan leper – full of gratefulness for the mercy I’ve received.

By letting scripture direct my prayers, I’m able to concentrate more effectively. When my mind wanders I simply move on to the next verse. More importantly, I experience communion with God. The Spirit of God speaks to me through the Word of God, leading me to respond to God.

This is what gives my prayers a kick in the pants.

Here is the third part of David Powlison’s discussion on renewing intimacy in marriage (Pt. 1, Pt. 2).  This one may be the best yet. Enjoy.

Here is part two of the video interview with David Powlison.  Very helpful on how to be open and receive encouragement from the body of Christ for your marriage.

All of us need help in our marriages- believe me wherever you are in your marriage you are not alone. Whether we are dealing with all out conflict, growing coldness, general apathy, relational distance, habitual self-absorption or any other challenge to your marriage, we are all on the same road.

All of us live as those daily dependent on Christ’s forgiving grace and transforming grace for our marriages.

Recently, CCEF (an extremely helpful Christian counseling ministry) posted some short videos featuring David Powlison discussing dynamics at work within marriage relationships. Definitely worth watching.